Bridal Party

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Eleni Engaged: The Value of Videography?

Eleni puts some thought into whether, ten years from now, she’ll regret skipping the videographer.

By Eleni Garbis Published Wednesday, January 07, 2009

Eleni with Ron on Christmas, before he headed out to work.

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! The new year is upon us, and that means I’m getting married . . . soon. When you start to plan your wedding 11 months in advance, it seems far away. The time creeps up on you, though (doesn’t it always?), and now the wedding festivities are only a few months away.

The 2008 holiday season provided a great opportunity to eat, bake cookies (yes, that’s right, I baked), read magazines, visit with the family, and of course, obsess about the wedding.

Among other things, including wedding invitations, entrée decisions, the buzz around the Obama family staying at the Hay-Adams, and the death of my diet due to cookie baking, I thought a lot about videography. It’s been in the back of my head since we booked our band through Washington Talent, because the company also books photography and video services. I haven’t done much research on videographers in Washington, save for the Bridal Chat: Ask a Videographer with Martin Andrews of Blue Sky Films to get an idea of pricing and film quality.

The wedding-video samples on Andrews’s Web site are really nice, and I especially like the videos shot in Super 8 movie film. I guess the bottom line is—is it worth the extra money? Will I ever watch the video again? Or will I just look at the pictures? If we don’t get a videographer, will I regret it ten years from now?

I know everyone has a different feeling on the matter. What’s important to some people is less important to others. For one friend of mine, the wedding cake is a very important part of her planning. For me, the cake doesn’t really matter as long as it’s chocolate. It’s definitely important to me to have some of the ceremony videotaped, but I don’t know if I need an entire video of the wedding to play like a movie. If I had an unlimited budget, à la Platinum Weddings, then sure, I’d throw in a videographer. But at this point, I don’t think I want to give up on some of the flowers or the good wine for a professional wedding video.

At the very least, I’ll ask my 16-year-old godson to videotape the ceremony, the speeches, and some of the dancing. I already mentioned the idea to him, and he said he’d be up for it. I know it won’t be the best quality, but at least it will be something Ron and I can watch years from now.

I actually videotaped a wedding ceremony two summers ago on a beach in North Carolina. Aside from the fact that my friends and I were running incredibly late and we got to the beach just as the bridesmaids started walking down the aisle, the taping went well. I’m sure it’s no spectacular videography, but the bride and groom were grateful they had the memories on tape. And I made sure to keep my arm steady.

Another option is to look into hiring a videographer just for the ceremony. I’m not sure if that would be less expensive or if videographers will even do that, though, because the ceremony is only one hour.

Anyone out there have experience with videographers?

Eleni, a local bride-to-be, writes every Wednesday about planning her wedding, which will be in Washington in the spring. To follow her adventures from the beginning, click here.

If you like reading about Eleni, make sure to check out our other blogging bride-to-be, Lisa Marie, who writes every Friday. Follow her adventures here.

To read the latest Bridal Party blog posts, click here.

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Comments

Spend the money on a photobooth. :)

Posted by: J, Jan 08, 2009 12:01:20 PM

Hi Eleni,

I am getting married on April 26th and have been going through the same decision-making process regarding a videographer. We have also decided not to spend the money here and have asked family members to do this for us.

My mom got married 19 years ago and had her brother tape the wedding via a handheld recorder and we all watch it every year on their anniversary. Sure, its not perfect, but that add to the charm of it. The technology 19 years ago was not nearly as good as it is now and really think we will get a great, funny, true account of our wedding seen through the eyes of our family and friends.

Good luck!

Posted by: courtney, Jan 08, 2009 07:45:58 AM

I know there is a ton of stuff to budget, but I’d also vote for a quality video.

I was recently with my grandparents for their 60th wedding anniversary, and I spent hours going through all of their old engagement and wedding albums, with my grandmother sitting next to me telling stories about all these people in black and white that I’d never met (but who my siblings and I look like). I will seriously treasure those stories for as long as I can remember them.

Your wedding is going to be stunningly gorgeous - I’d record it for posterity.

Posted by: Heather, Jan 08, 2009 06:59:03 AM

Hi Eleni,

I can almost guarantee you that if you get a really well done video you WILL watch it many, many times. If you have your 16-year old godson videotape it or just have an inexpensive ceremony-only wedding video, you may only watch it a few times over your lifetime. I know from personal experience.

I was married 5 years before I became a videographer. My Mom’s boss videotaped our wedding. The tape was lost for almost 6 years, so we were already making amazing wedding videos BEFORE I ever even saw my own! When I did see it I cried, not because it was beautiful, but because it was so horrible. To this day I have only looked at it twice. My wedding was the last day I saw my Grandfather and the only shot of him is his shoes (right before the battery died). You can’t hear our vows. It is shaky...I could go on and on, but you get the point.

Now I get to create amazing works of art that my clients will enjoy the rest of their lives....and they tell me that they watch it over and over. It’s not just about having a ceremony filmed...it’s about telling the story of your wedding day and the people who were there. It becomes part of your family history.

In fact I just got an email from a groom whose wedding we did 8 years ago (back in the VHS days) and he said he finally needs to get his wedding video on DVD because his mother has literally worn out their VHS tape!

So try not to look at just the immediate things like wine and flowers because in 20 years those won’t matter. Your kids and grandkids won’t be able to enjoy that, but they CAN enjoy your wedding and seeing relatives that maybe they never met. There just really isn’t a comparison.

If I could do my wedding over again, I would make videography and photography the top priority on my list (in that order).

Congratulations on your wedding! Now go book your videographer! :)

Laura Randall
Edit 1 Media

Posted by: Laura Randall, Jan 07, 2009 12:17:01 PM

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Eleni Engaged: The Value of Videography?

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